As part of its continued move away from commercial aviation, Bombardier has announced that it is to sell its aerostructures business to Spirit AeroSystems (Spirit) for US$1 billion in cash and debt. The deal is expected to finalize in the first half of 2020.
Spirit will acquire Bombardier’s Belfast plant, another in Morocco and a smaller third plant in Dallas. “This transaction represents another strategic milestone in the reshaping of our portfolio to focus on our strong business aircraft and rail franchises,” Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said in a statement.
Analysts have identified this acquisition as a good strategic move for Spirit in order to diversify its customer base away from Boeing. While Spirit may be Boeing’s largest supplier, it intends to expand its business footing with Airbus. The deal will immediately provide Spirit with a backlog of work including long-term contracts on Airbus A220 and A320neo planes, along with business and regional jets of Bombardier – the Belfast plant is currently producing wings for the Airbus A220 which currently has an order backlog of 435 of the 110-to130-seat jets.
